List of third party performances in United States presidential elections

This page contains lists of (a) notable third party presidential candidates (1788–present); (b) other third party presidential candidates (1788–present): (c) notable third-party presidential performances by state (1832–present); and (d) notable third party cross-endorsement presidential performances by state (1896–present).

Since the 1850s, the two largest U.S. political parties have been the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.[page needed] It is rare for third party and independent candidates to win large shares of the vote in presidential elections. As of 2023, the last third party presidential candidate to win an electoral vote was George Wallace of the American Independent Party, who won five states in 1968.

Notable third party presidential candidates (1788–present)

This list includes the third-party candidates that captured at least one state and/or more than 5% of the popular vote.

Year Party Nominee Running-Mate # Votes % Votes % Votes
On Ballot
Electoral Votes Place Notes
1832 Nullifier John Floyd Henry Lee 0
0 / 100
N/A
11 / 286
3rd
Anti-Masonic William Wirt Amos Ellmaker 99,817
7.78 / 100
15.93 / 100
7 / 286
4th
1848 Free Soil Martin Van Buren Charles F. Adams 291,475
10.13 / 100
13.79 / 100
0 / 290
3rd
1856 American Millard Fillmore Andrew J. Donelson 872,703
21.54 / 100
21.54 / 100
8 / 296
1860 Lecompton Democratic John C. Breckinridge Joseph Lane 851,844
18.20 / 100
22.04 / 100
72 / 303
2nd
Constitutional Union John Bell Edward Everett 590,946
12.62 / 100
15.43 / 100
39 / 303
3rd
1872 Liberal Republican Horace Greeley Benjamin Gratz Brown 2,834,761
43.78 / 100
43.78 / 100
0 / 352
2nd
1892 Populist James B. Weaver James G. Field 1,026,595
8.51 / 100
8.62 / 100
22 / 444
3rd
1912 Progressive Theodore Roosevelt Hiram Johnson 4,120,609
27.39 / 100
27.86 / 100
88 / 531
2nd
Socialist Eugene V. Debs Emil Seidel 900,742
5.99 / 100
5.99 / 100
0 / 531
4th
1924 Progressive Robert M. La Follette Burton K. Wheeler 4,833,821
16.62 / 100
16.69 / 100
13 / 531
3rd
1948 States' Rights Democratic (Dixiecrat) Strom Thurmond Fielding L. Wright 1,175,946
2.41 / 100
17.70 / 100
39 / 531
1968 American Independent George Wallace Curtis LeMay 9,901,118
13.53 / 100
13.56 / 100
46 / 538
1996 Reform Ross Perot Pat Choate 8,085,402
8.40 / 100
8.40 / 100
0 / 538

Other third party presidential candidates (1788–present)

This list includes the third-party candidates that captured less than 5% but more than 1% of the popular vote and no electoral votes.

Year Party Nominee Running mate No. votes % Votes % Votes
on ballot
Place Note
1808 Independent
Democratic-Republican
James Monroe - 4,848
2.50 / 100
11.22 / 100
3rd -
1812 Straight-Federalist Rufus King William R. Davie 5,574
2.00 / 100
26.90 / 100
-
1820 Independent
Democratic-Republican
DeWitt Clinton - 1,893
1.75 / 100
5.88 / 100
-
1844 Liberty James G. Birney Thomas Morris 62,300
2.31 / 100
3.28 / 100
: 861 
1852 Free Soil John P. Hale George W. Julian 155,799
4.93 / 100
6.15 / 100
-
1880 Greenback James B. Weaver Barzillai J. Chambers 308,578
3.35 / 100
3.45 / 100
: 1558 
1884 Benjamin Butler Absolom M. West 175,370
1.74 / 100
2.16 / 100
: 1611 
Prohibition John St. John William Daniel 150,369
1.50 / 100
1.57 / 100
4th : 1611 
1888 Clinton Fisk John A. Brooks 249,506
2.19 / 100
2.21 / 100
3rd : 1700 
Union Labor Alson Streeter Charles E. Cunningham 146,935
1.29 / 100
1.54 / 100
4th : 1700 
1892 Prohibition John Bidwell James Cranfill 255,841
2.12 / 100
2.17 / 100
: 1784 
1900 John G. Woolley Henry B. Metcalf 209,157
1.50 / 100
1.52 / 100
3rd : 1962 
1904 Socialist Eugene V. Debs Benjamin Hanford 402,895
2.98 / 100
2.98 / 100
: 2046 
Prohibition Silas C. Swallow George W. Carroll 258,950
1.91 / 100
1.96 / 100
4th : 2046 
1908 Socialist Eugene V. Debs Benjamin Hanford 420,890
2.83 / 100
2.84 / 100
3rd : 2131 
Prohibition Eugene W. Chafin Aaron S. Watkins 252,511
1.70 / 100
1.80 / 100
4th : 2131 
1912 207,828
1.38 / 100
1.46 / 100
5th : 2242 
1916 Socialist Allan L. Benson George R. Kirkpatrick 585,113
3.17 / 100
3.19 / 100
3rd : 2345 
Prohibition Frank Hanly Ira Landrith 220,506
1.19 / 100
1.24 / 100
4th : 2345 
1920 Socialist Eugene V. Debs Seymour Stedman 919,799
3.44 / 100
3.53 / 100
3rd : 2456 
1932 Socialist Norman Thomas James H. Maurer 884,781
2.22 / 100
2.28 / 100
: 2806 
1936 Union William Lemke Thomas C. O'Brien 882,479
1.93 / 100
2.88 / 100
: 2914 
1948 Progressive Henry A. Wallace Glen H. Taylor 1,157,172
2.37 / 100
2.65 / 100
4th : 3211 
1972 American Independent John G. Schmitz Thomas J. Anderson 1,100,868
1.42 / 100
1.79 / 100
3rd -
1980 Libertarian Ed Clark David H. Koch 921,128
1.06 / 100
1.06 / 100
4th -
2000 Green Ralph Nader Winona LaDuke 2,882,955
2.74 / 100
2.86 / 100
3rd -
2016 Libertarian Gary Johnson William Weld 4,484,244
3.28 / 100
3.28 / 100
-
Green Jill Stein Ajamu Baraka 1,454,244
1.06 / 100
1.16 / 100
4th -
2020 Libertarian Jo Jorgensen Spike Cohen 1,865,620
1.18 / 100
1.18 / 100
3rd

Notable third-party presidential performances by state (1832–present)

This list includes the statewide performance of third-party candidates not included in the lists above who accrued 5% or more of a state's popular vote.

Many third-party candidates have run under different affiliations in different states. They do this for many reasons, including laws restricting ballot access, cross-endorsements by other established parties, etc.[citation needed] In the list below, the party column shows which of a given candidate's affiliation(s) appeared on the ballot in which corresponding state(s).

Notable third party cross-endorsement presidential performances by state (1896–present)

This list includes the statewide performance of each major party candidate who ran on the ballot line of a political party other than their own, either through electoral fusion or for other reasons. This list does not include cases where a third party shares the same ballot line as a major party. The vote totals and percentages listed are those each candidate received under a particular third-party label.

Electoral fusion was once widespread in the United States. As of 2022, electoral fusion as conventionally understood by historians and political scientists is fully legal in only two states: Connecticut and New York. It is partially legal in three others; Pennsylvania and Maryland permit fusion in certain elections (including judicial elections), and California allows fusion in presidential elections only.[page needed]


This page was last updated at 2023-10-30 04:38 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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